Day 1.5 Iceland

Everything is better after a nap. I got about four hours on the plane, and another four in the room topped me right off. Then it was time for my favorite spot and a necessary stop. My favorite spot is the Handknitters’ Association where you can buy lovely, hand knit (in Iceland) Icelandic sweaters, gloves, hats, and more. You can also buy little felted wool Christmas ornaments and other souvenirs. But best of all you can buy Icelandic wool from Einband (lace weight) to Plötulopi (untwisted pencil roving usually knitted 2-3 strands together for a lofty, warm garment.

On today’s visit I got lots of Einband for my friend Ariane, and one roll of Plötulopi for me. I want to check the gauge and color for my project before going nuts(er). Then it was time to gird my loins and figure out the local bus system so I could get to Elko (an electronics superstore) and buy an electrical converter and adapters. Yup. I was packed two days before I came here. I had a comprehensive list of the items I needed to bring. But then I second (and third) guessed myself and repacked into a couple of different bags to see which one fit the best. In the process I managed to leave behind all the adapters and the converter—and who knows what else.

But the good news is that I was able to download the bus app, figure it out, find a route, get to the bus stop, and buy a ticket in the app. I went to Elko, rigged up some pieces that meet my needs, and caught the bus back to the old part of town where I am staying. For most people, everything I just described would probably be common place and no big deal, but it was a revelation to me. My last travel alone in Europe was in 1987. In the eastern bloc and the Soviet Union. Before the wall fell. There were no cell phones, laptops, iPads—zip, zilch, nada. Everything came from Let’s Go Europe, paper maps, route maps at the bus stops, and most of all—foreign currency. The first thing you did on arrival in any country was to change dollars to the local currency—francs, pounds, zlotys, lira, you name it. Depending on where you were, you either changed in a bank or official money exchange, or in an elevator, guesthouse, restaurant or bar. In the Eastern European countries hard currency was king, and trading with the locals gave both you and them a fantastic rate.

Traveling now? I barely have money—much less a need to change it. Apple Pay rules, and the only downside to depending so heavily on tech is that when your battery dies, you are hosed. When I finally got the bus stop, purchased my ticket on-line, and was waiting for the bus, my phone was at 1%. The bus took 20 minutes longer to get there than it should have, and all the time my phone stayed at 1%. Finally the bus arrived and my phone lived long enough to give me my destination stop before it died. I bought my charging things and the kind staff at the store charged my phone up a bit for me before sending me on my way.

When I got off the bus and started to walk to my lodging I came across a venue called BrewDog. It was appreciably busy with locals so I figured it was good and reasonable. It was reasonable and amaaaaaazing! Wednesday is all-you-can-eat buffalo cauliflower night, and it was like no cauliflower—nor like any buffalo sauce—I had ever had. Topped it off with a Valkyrie Vandetta (sic) sour cherry beer with hints of hazelnut and whiskey, and waddled home replete.

Now I recharge  all my devices, and check my schedule for tomorrow before going to bed. I’m still tired and tomorrow is the first day riding.